1. Field of the Invention
The field of the present invention is golf clubs and in particular golf clubs having an advantageous or improved weight distribution.
2. Prior Art
The prior art is replete with golf clubs of all kinds and descriptions, some relating to allegedly improved weight distribution.
A search was conducted in the appropriate U.S. Patent Office classifications as follows: Class 434, subclass 252; Class 473, subclasses 256, 282, 291, 292, 297, 298, 307, 308, and 316. The search did not show or suggest the golf club according to the present invention, although it did show, as expected, that weights oriented on the handle or gripping end of a golf club are notoriously old. Copies of the most relevant patents are provided herewith. U.S. Pat. No. 1,696,462 of 1928 shows a weighted attachment at the very end of the handle of a golf club. Over the years, alleged improvements have been made and various changes in the basic concept have arisen, some for entirely different end purposes. U.S. Pat. No. 4,600,195 shows the addition of a plurality of weights at the very end of the gripping or handle end of the club and extending continuously outwardly, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,308,072 discloses an offset counterweight structure which is out of alignment with the longitudinal or vertical axis of the club shaft. Such weights may be detachable as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,696,462. Other patents turned up in the search were U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,461,479, 5,308,072, 5,452,891, 5,554,078, 5,649,870, and 5,766,088, most of these relating only to the elongation of the gripping surface of a golf club, especially a putter, or various means for increasing or changing the weight at the handle or gripping end of the club. An extension of the search to include the references cited during prosecution of those patents failed to show anything more relevant, but copies of U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,528,190, 1,709,546, 2,178,872, and 3,606,327 are nevertheless also provided herewith.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,696,462 and 4,600,195 attempt to improve the weight distribution by adding weight at the very end of the club shaft opposed to the club head, but this has actually proved to be disadvantageous in practice as merely adding weight at the gripping end of the club at or about the pivot point thereof, which in fact only makes the xe2x80x9chandlexe2x80x9d of the club heavier with respect to the rest of the club and not only increases the moment of inertia but also increases the swing weight of the club with its accompanying disadvantages, while an out-of-alignment counterweight as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,308,072 makes it difficult to maintain a uniform or constant directional pattern during the course of a swing or swings.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a golf club having an advantageous weight distribution which increases the moment of inertia but decreases the swing weight of the club and thus allows the golfer to attain an increased velocity about the pivot point of the club while using the same amount of energy input or the same swing as the golfer would employ with a normal club. It is another object of the invention to provide a golf club in which a weight is provided at a point which is spaced upwardly toward the golfer from the normal pivot point of the club and from the normal gripping end thereof so as to provide a club which fulfills the first objective of the invention. Another object of the invention is to provide a golf club in which the weight added beyond the gripping end of the club is between about 25 and 200 grams, preferably about 50 to about 100 grams, and wherein said weight is spaced between one inch and six inches, preferably about three inches to five inches, above the normal gripping end of the club. It is a further object of the invention to provide a golf club of the type described wherein the added weight is thus provided behind the hands of the golfer at the end of a spacer or extension thereof and, with respect to the club, considerably above the normal pivot point thereof. It is another object of the present invention to provide a weighted extension comprising an adapter for use in modifying an existing golf club of conventional type to provide the structure and advantages of the present invention. Additional objects of the invention will become apparent hereinafter and still others will be obvious to one skilled in the art.
According to the present invention, improved weight distribution, swing weight and distance is attained by provision of a golf club having a hollow tubular shaft from the head or shank end to the gripping or handle end thereof, and a hollow tubular extension beyond the handle or gripping end of the club and the normal gripping surface thereof which provides a distance of one to six inches beyond the club end, at the end of which is provided a weight of 25 to 200 grams. When the extension is provided by means of an adapter, an additional segment or extension must be added to the extension so the same may be fixedly secured inside of or around the hollow shaft of the golf club itself at the handle or gripping end thereof. Both the extension and the weight at the end thereof must be axially aligned with the axis of the shaft, that is, the extension and the weight must be aligned with the vertical or longitudinal axis of the hollow golf club shaft. This places the weight at the end of the hollow extension axially in line with the club shaft and behind the golfer""s hands during any swing of a club comprising the same for maximizing the effectiveness, direction, and distance attained by the swing, and not simply at the end of the golf club handle or gripping surface, where its effect is minimal or even negative although the mass of the golf club is increased in such case.
The hollow extension may be of the same metal or alloy as the shaft of the golf club itself, or of any other suitable metal or even strong rigid plastic material. As disclosed herein, the extension may even be in the form of a continuation of the shaft of the golf club itself beyond its normal end and beyond the gripping surface thereof. When the extension is provided with an adapter, the extension of the defined length is provided with an attachment feature, that is, a further extension thereof adapted to fit into or outside of the hollow shaft of the golf club proper at the end of the handle or gripping surface thereof and adapted to be secured in fixed engagement with said hollow shaft of the club at the end thereof.
What I believe to be my invention, then, inter alia, comprises the following, singly or in combination:
A golf club having a head end and a handle or gripping end and a hollow shaft therebetween, an elongated hollow tubular extension of the hollow shaft at the handle or gripping end thereof and beyond the gripping surface thereof, said extension being one to six inches in length and carrying a weight of 25 to 200 grams fixedly secured at the end thereof, said extension and said weight being aligned with the vertical or longitudinal axis of the shaft of the club, said extension spacing the weight upwardly beyond the gripping surface of the club and thus behind the golfer""s hands upon gripping the club and above the pivot point of the club during the golfer""s swing; such a
golf club wherein the extension is provided as a continuation of the hollow shaft of the golf club itself which extends beyond the gripping surface thereof; such a
golf club wherein the extension is provided with adapter means axially aligned therewith of an additional length sufficient to enable its securement at the end of the hollow golf club shaft for fixed engagement therewith in alignment with the vertical or longitudinal axis of said golf club shaft; such a
golf club wherein the adapter means fits inside the end of a hollow golf club shaft and is fixedly secured therein; such a
golf club wherein the length of the extension is about three to about five inches and the weight is about 50 to about 100 grams; and such a
golf club wherein the club is an iron, a wood, or a putter.
Moreover, an elongated tubular extension for the handle or gripping end of a golf club having a hollow shaft, said extension being one to six inches in length and carrying a weight of 25 to 200 grams fixedly secured at one end thereof, said extension having at the other end thereof adapter means axially aligned therewith of an additional length sufficient to enable its securement at the end of the hollow golf club shaft for fixed engagement therewith in alignment with the vertical or longitudinal axis of said golf club shaft; such an
extension wherein the adapter is designed for securement within the end of a hollow golf club shaft for fixed engagement therewith; and such an
extension wherein the length of the extension is about three to about five inches and wherein the weight is about 50 to about 100 grams.